Adventures in Pokepark
by Nettlefur
Summary: A Mareep named Punk spawns in the Pokepark one day. Accompanied by his Luxio friend, Link, the two have-as the title suggests-adventures around the park. There's no telling what's around the bend!
1. Spawn

At about 12:25 PM in our time, a white streak slashed the sky. It's a Mareep, freefalling his way to the Pokemon world. "Wheeeeeeeee!" He cried, his back facing the ground. He did cartwheels and backflips and frontflips all the way down, not knowing of the lake below him...

Sure enough, like a nuclear explosion, he made fast and merciless contact with the crystalline water, causing a jaw-dropping tsunami that covered all the Duckletts, Starlies, Basculins, and even the local Vaporeon swimming there. As for Mareep himself, he had dove in so fast that he shot deeper and deeper into the lake, like a bullet. He went in so deep the blues around him turned to blacks, before he finally stirred up a cloud of mud. Then everything was quiet, as if he went deaf. (Thanks to the roar of the water around him, it certainly felt like it) Mareep simply saw the glimmer of the surface above him, possibly hours away from him as if it was just a sapphire in a cave wall. But he couldn't wait hours-his lungs started begging for a fresh breath. He began to paddle towards the sapphire surface-in vain, thanks to his stubby legs. Then he saw several lights above his eyes. He didn't know it yet but Mareep had been found by a school of Lanturns; they were fat periwinkle fish creatures with yellow masks and fin bottoms. They had lights on their heads just like anglerfish. Then mareep felt cold, rubbery skin beneath him; it was a Wailord, a gigantic whale creature, and it was annoyed with him for invading on their territory. Wailord positioned itself so Mareep was right on top of its blowhole, then swept him up to the surface. And the moment the tip of Mareep's nose felt chilly air, Wailord emptied the water from its body in a powerful manner that sent Mareep hurtling into the sky.

The ground was much harder than the water, as Mareep felt his spine explode. Worst of all, thanks to those stupid stubby feet he couldn't upright himself. He wriggled around desperately, knowing that he looked ridiculous to an outsider. Then a force rolled him over on his side, making him able to stand upright. When Mareep looked around he saw a blue-faced cat covered in black fur. His star-tipped tail lashed, and his yellow eyes were fixed on Mareep. "Hey-o." He said bluntly. "Hey-o." Mareep replied. "Haven't seen you around." The cat tilted his head. "Mareep usually live in the Arcane Area." Mareep's eyes squinted. _"There's MORE of me?!"_ "Uh." The cat read Mareep's offended-confused expression. "We haven't met properly. I'm Link. Link the Luxio." Mareep's jaws went agape. _What's my name?! Oh God I don't have a name!_ Frantic, Mareep went around in uneasy circles, screaming "I DON'T HAVE A NNNNAAAAAAMMMMEEE!" Then he smacked, hard, into something heavy. It was a light purple round thing with its eyes on its sides, covered in spines and red spots. When Mareep uncurled, the thing was staring right at him, furious. Within an eye blink, the thing gave chase. "COME BACK HERE, PUNK!" It shouted. _"Punk."_ Mareep's ears picked up. _"Punk the Mareep...I like it."_ Then his tailtip felt the thing's dry, rapidly moving skin. It was closing in. Terrified, he decided to burst ahead of the critter; when it drew near again, Mareep closed his eyes, lifted his back legs into the air, and kicked as strongly as he could. When he opened his eyes and turned around, he saw a purple, red-spotted, spiky disk launch into the air, yelping.

As Mareep smiled in relief, Link came up again. "That was amazing!" He wagged his tail. "Kicking away Whirlipede like that. Usually he slams into every single Pokemon in his path for days on end!" "I've decided on my name." Mareep didn't let the trickle of pride disrupt his train of thought. "I'm Punk." "Well, Punk, you're something special." Link instantly accepted Punk's new name. "So, uh, the Pokemon world is...well, it kind of relies on friendship, so...want to be friends?" Punk's face brightened in amusement. "Sure, why not?" And they shook paws. "Now then...what's the Arcane Area?" "Oh, right. Let's get you there." Link padded forward, past a big, blobby frog-like being. At the sight of him Link went faster, but the frog-thing gave chase. Thankfully Link outran him. It was Punk's turn now, and he scurried. But the frog saw him and started lumbering towards him. Frightened, Punk fled, outrunning him as well. He was only a hair's length away from ramming Link. "Who was _that_?" Punk asked. "That was Seismitoad. He's a TOTAL jerk. Even more so than Whirlipede." Link's ears flattened. "He thinks he owns that part of the path, and he's happy to clean the clock of whoever thinks otherwise. I can't believe the Tympoles idolize him."

They climbed a big hill, meeting a Psyduck and Vaporeon. Link informed Punk of each Pokemon they found. "This is Verdant Court, a sister area of the Meadow Zone." He explained. "The Arcane Area is beyond all this. They just repaired the bridge a couple days ago." Then, when they came to the top of the hill, where there was a cave and a tall ledge, Punk saw a beautiful creature. Its underneath was a pale yellow. The ears were tall and straight. A yellow flower sat atop its head, and it had four legs with stony gray hooves. Its overcoat was a lovely dappled orange-brown, and it glowed in the warm light as the creature danced and played. Punk was completely blown away by her beauty. "Who...is THAT?" He sputtered. Link moved his eyes in the creature's direction. "That? That's just Leap. She's a Deerling." "Leap~" Punk said softly. Link seemed to read his expression. "Let's just move on before you turn into a statue." He gave his friend a small shock to get him out of his trance. "You can make your advances on her later, Romeo." His eyes glazed as they walked over the bridge. "We're almost there."

"I like that big tree." Punk looked admiringly at the tree in the center of the grass. "They grow berries, but I don't trust 'em too much. They might let out a Stinkberry." Link's nose wrinkled. "Purple berries with horrible stenches. Even the happiest Pokemon get into bad moods if they're in proxy of one of those snotballs." "Oh." Punk looked at the big steps of land that led to a brighter light. "Is that the Arcane Area?" "Yep." Link nodded, and they headed up the stairs together.

The Arcane Area was lovely. Pastel flower patches were walked on softly by Buffoulant, big buffalo-like animals, and stacks of blue Lotads. A Charmander sailed the skies brilliantly, like an orange balloon. In front of Link and Punk were, as Link said, more Mareep. They moved around drowsily. Smaller Pokemon chased each other with glee. "This is supposed to be my home?" Punk was displeased by the slowness of his kind. "It's the sun that's doing it." Link looked distant. "It beats down on their wool. I bet it's like an oven underneath that stuff. But you should see 'em in the winter." Link yawned. "But...they have the...ability...to make you t-tired...too..." Without another word he plopped down on his side in the warm grass. The Mareep saw him and fell asleep all the same. Punk just rolled his eyes and explored the Arcane Area.

The area was circular, with shallow ponds and a big lake a little left from the center. The land beyond the lake was bordered off by a gigantic patch of aquatic plants, and it was inhabited mostly by Basculin, intimidating little piranhas. Punk turned around and decided to check out the other side, with the soccer net. It seemed that most Pokemon hung around here, including the Charizard from earlier and a huge deer-like animal. A funny orange Pokemon with a red-brown crest and yellow "pants" was fiercely guarding the net. Beyond this part of the area, Punk could see a tiny pink and yellow kitten examine... _something_ , but he couldn't tell because a ring of rock served as a picket fence, which obscured his view. He needed to go over to the kitten himself. When he did, all he saw was a small black hole, in which the kitten's tail disappeared as it giggled. He looked in the hole and saw nothing. Curious, he crouched down and began to stuff himself into the hole. Although he definitely didn't have as much space to move around as the kitten did, he was able to fit.

The tunnel was pitch black, and Punk could barely feel anything but stone. But he still wanted dearly to know what was at the end of the hole. The silence made his wool tingle. Suddenly, he heard somebody shout his name, making him bang his head against the tunnel's roof. _"That HAD to have been Link."_ He gulped. _"And he's probably not happy I sneaked off to this tunnel."_ Because the tunnel was so small, he couldn't turn around and make sure. "Link?" He called. But there was no response. "Might've just been hearing things." He mumbled. But soon after, he really did hear something. It sounded like hundreds of tiny voices mewling...for help. Punk did his best to speed up.


	2. To The Caves!

Punk kept climbing, all senses of insecurities coursing through his wool. His heart pounded, his ears pricked forward, his tail dragged miserably behind him. The mewling kept on quietly. "Help…help…help…" it whimpered, accompanied by tiny scratches against what sounded like gravel. "Don't worry, I'm coming. You'll be safe…I…hope..." Punk said softly, his eyes wide, trying to gather enough light to decipher what was around him. Then there was a shriek, an ear-piercing screech that echoed through the tunnel and made Punk's ears ache. Through the screeching he could hear two sets of cackles; the different, but equally terrifying laughs overpowered the screaming of that meek, shrill little voice until, finally, it stopped abruptly with a little "oomph!" The laughter, however, gradually faded off into the distance. No other sounds came forward, making Punk feel as if he had gone deaf. Those _were_ piercing shrieks, after all. Just what had happened at the source of all that noise? Twisted curiosity pushed Punk forward still, despite every single sense in his body telling him to turn around, scoot back to the entrance as fast as his little hooves could take him, and forget this had ever happened. He was certain if the tunnel was even a little bigger, he would be shuddering faster than a hummingbird's wings could beat.

Just when Punk was thinking about where he'd like to be buried if he was ever found, his front hooves no longer felt the floor of the tunnel. He wiggled them around, but all he felt was freezing air. Was this the end? He still couldn't see anything, but hope and triumph built up in his mind. What was back here? Treasure? Did that laughter belong to a pair of treacherous pirates? Had he found a whole new world? Excitement replacing his terror, he gave himself one final push, only to tumble face-first down a slope. Terrified, Punk wriggled like a worm on a sugar high as he rolled down, flipping and swiveling, until he landed flat on his back. His face and legs sent multiple sharp stings of pain as he took deep breaths. "God, I feel like I'm dead." Punk whispered as he heaved himself back up. "Nobody's even down here." He snorted. "What a letdown. I thought there'd be-YIPE!" He'd spoken too soon! A cold, stony hand planted a tight grip on Punk's back and whipped him up off the ground. It pinched. Hard. "HELP ME! HELP ME!" he screamed. "LEMME GO! AUGH! **I DIDN'T MEAN IT!** "

Frighteningly close to him, one of those same voices from before chuckled slowly. It was low and hearty, just like a pirate. Now he could hear the flapping of leathery wings just as, if not closer, to him than the laughter. "What did we catch this time~?" A higher voice sneered. Punk felt something slam into his chest. "It feels awful wooly. Like a pillow." "I'm feeling a little ball down here." The lower voice replied. Something was squeezing and rubbing the orb on his tail, making poor Punk cringe repeatedly. Then they both poked at his ears and nose. A dirty finger even went into his mouth at one point, feeling his teeth. "Stop it" he wanted to say, but he decided he should not try to anger these strange creatures. The higher voice gasped. "Oh, I know what it is. It's a Mareep~!" There was that alien chuckle again. "What are you doing here, little one? Shouldn't you be lounging around with your bud-dies~?" "Hey, don't Mareeps have glowing tails? Like, if they get that static electricity stuff?" The first creature asked. "Let's see~." Replied the second one. Then they turned Punk over, gripping his sides. Then he felt himself be thrusted back down to the floor, which brought even more pain to his back. Then he was harshly rubbed back and forth.

Punk whined, terrified. Yet both creatures now kept egging him on, chanting for his tail to illuminate. "GLOW! GLOW! GLOW!" They both demanded. Tears began to flow in Punk's eyes. He had just become conscious! He didn't know how to glow yet! "Oh, he's starting to cry~!" The second creature crowed. "Just glow, little Mareep, and we'll stop. C'mon, show us you can glow." _"Okay, okay!"_ Punk tried thinking glowing thoughts, but he couldn't feel any impulses coming to his tail. He shook it, yelled to it in his head, wiggled his ears and stuck out his tongue, but nothing happened. "COO. OP. ER. ATE!" The bigger bully roared. "JUST **GLOW** ALREADY!" Punk snorted. _"I beg your pardon, it's hard to concentrate on glowing thoughts when you're rubbing me against the ground!"_ "Maybe he needs a little pull." The smaller bully tightly gripped his tail orb and gave it a sharp pull; he tugged on Punk's tail repeatedly with cold talons. _"Ouch! Ow! Why, you winged maggot!"_ That was it; Punk had enough of this abuse. He moved his nose around until he could feel the big creature's arm, opened his jaw nice and wide, and…

"YOW!" Punk felt the creature's grip disappear instantly. He wasn't taking any chances; he rolled on his feet and bolted. He ran so fast he managed to shake off the talons; he could hear the creature's screaming fade off behind him. Soon all he could hear was his own hooves as he galloped…straight into a wall. Hit with recoil, he cringed and rubbed his aching snout. "Sure wish those guys got my tail to glow." He thought aloud. "I wonder…" Punk sat down. Now that he wasn't being shaken, he could concentrate on his glowing thoughts. His eyes shut tight and his tail laid still, his ears twitching just in case the bullies came around again. Suddenly, for a split second, there was a slight buzz and his tail felt warm. _"Is it working?! Oh, boy!"_ Punk grinned and thought harder, and the warm feeling continued to flicker. Finally, with a brighter flash, the buzzing and warmth seemed to stay. Punk opened his eyes, turned around, and saw his tail orb producing a bright light. He did it! "Woohoo!" He jumped in circles and danced on his back legs. Then he laughed as he proudly chased his newly glowing tail. "I sure showed them! And now I can see!"

The cave was lined with pointed rocks. It was all a pretty shade of bluish gray which glittered in his light. "How lovely." Punk smiled, satisfied. He decided to walk around the cave some more. Those two didn't seem to be pirates, but that didn't mean there couldn't be treasure! And there was still the mystery of who was mewling earlier. "Hello?" He yelled as he walked. "Is anybody there? I won't hurt you! You can come out." "Okay." Something squeaked back, and it caused him to jump backwards and fall on his tum. "Who are you?" He crouched down and held his tail over his head. A little pink creature came up from behind a corner. "Here I am."


End file.
